August 29, 2026
The Absolute 47 FLY: Three Cabins, One Pair of Hands
The 47 FLY is the entry point to Absolute's Flybridge line and the smallest of them to put two doubles and a twin below deck. Twin Volvo Pen…
Read the articleThe Absolute Flybridge Series
The line the yard grew out of - five flybridge boats you can dock on a joystick, from a 48-footer for the family to a 70 with four en-suite cabins.
Flybridge is the range Absolute built its name on, and it is the one to start with if the upper deck is where you expect to spend the day.
Five boats sit in the line, from the 47 FLY at 48' 0" to the 70 FLY at 70' 8". All five run twin Volvo Penta IPS pods, so joystick control comes with the drivetrain rather than as an option, and all five are certified CE category B.
The range divides cleanly in two. The 47 FLY puts three cabins below and no crew space, which makes it the owner-operator boat of the family. From the 52 FLY upward every boat adds a crew cabin behind its own door, so the cabins below stay in the guest count — and on the 52 that crew cabin is entered from the stern platform rather than through the accommodation.
The other step worth understanding is the one from the 52 FLY to the 56 FLY. Three feet of length overall takes fuel from 475 gallons to 687, a 45 percent increase, and brings a second full-beam cabin below. That is a different boat rather than a longer one, and it is where the range stops being sized for a family and starts being sized for two couples aboard for a week.
The Flybridge Lineup, Smallest to Largest
Every Absolute Flybridge model we review in depth, in the order owners step up through the series.
Photo credit Absolute.
48' 0" Italian flybridge - three cabins, two heads, aft galley, 423 gallons and twin Volvo Penta IPS650.
55' 0" flybridge with a galley and bar up top, three cabins plus crew and twin Volvo Penta IPS800.
57' 10" with two full-beam cabins, a twin crew cabin and a cockpit you furnish yourself.
61' 3" for 16 aboard - two empty decks to furnish your way, up to 2 x 900 hp on pods.
A six-panel sliding salon door, a step-free flybridge and four en-suite cabins on 70' 8".
Don't see the Flybridge model you're after — or a brand-new launch? Request specs through Yacht Specs Direct.
Moving Up the Flybridge Series
47 FLY — 48' 0" overall, 14' 10" beam, 3 cabins / 2 heads, 423 gal fuel, 140 gal water, 14 aboard. Twin Volvo Penta D6-IPS650 at 2 x 480 hp. The entry point and the only boat in the line without crew accommodation, which is the point of it: two doubles and a twin, a master you walk into at floor level rather than step down into, a side door beside the main helm, and a flybridge with a barbecue station and a sunpad alongside the helm seat.
52 FLY — 55' 0" overall, 15' 3" beam, 3 cabins / 2 heads plus crew, 475 gal fuel, 172 gal water, 14 aboard. Twin Volvo Penta D8-IPS800 at 2 x 600 hp. Seven feet of length buys a great deal: a flybridge with its own galley, dining table and bar unit rather than a barbecue station, a pantry beside the saloon galley, a crew cabin reached from the stern platform, and a third guest cabin that converts electrically from twin berths to a double as standard.
56 FLY — 57' 10" overall, 15' 9" beam, 3 cabins / 3 heads plus crew, 687 gal fuel, 172 gal water, 14 aboard. Twin D8-IPS800 at 2 x 600 hp standard, D11-IPS950 at 2 x 725 hp above it. The boat where the second cabin stops being the junior one: owner's suite and VIP are both full beam, there are no steps anywhere on the lower deck, and the cockpit arrives with no fixed furniture so you specify what goes in it. The hardtop can be ordered with integrated solar panels.
60 FLY — 61' 3" overall, 16' 2" beam, 3 cabins / 3 heads plus crew, 740 gal fuel, 193 gal water, 16 aboard. Twin D11-IPS950 at 2 x 725 hp standard, D13-IPS1200 at 2 x 900 hp above it. Two decks arrive unfurnished here rather than one — the cockpit and the flybridge both — with glazed parapet balustrades on each so the view runs to the water. The crew cabin is entered by a fixed corridor from the swim platform, and the raised full-beam owner's quarter forward carries a walk-in closet and a sea-view vanity.
70 FLY — 70' 8" overall, 17' 8" beam, 4 cabins plus crew, 951 gal fuel, 240 gal water, 16 aboard. Twin D13-IPS1350 at 735 kW a side. The flagship of the line, and the two things to walk aboard and operate are the six-panel sliding door down the port side, which turns the indoor dining area into an open-sided space, and a flybridge with no steps in it. Four cabins each with an en-suite head, and a crew cabin with separate access and its own bathroom.
Our Take
The Flybridge range is the easiest part of the Absolute line to shop, because the steps between the boats are about how many people you carry and who looks after them, not about styling.
If you are running the boat yourself and the family is four or five people, the 47 FLY is the whole answer and I would not talk anyone up from it for the sake of it. Two doubles and a twin at 48 feet, a master you walk into rather than climb down into, and a side door beside the helm so you can step out and take a line on your own. What you give up is the flybridge galley and the crew cabin, and if neither of those changes your week then the 47 is the better buy.
The 52 is where the boat starts hosting rather than transporting. A galley, a dining table and a bar on the upper deck means nobody goes below at lunchtime, and the crew cabin entered from the platform means a captain or a caretaker comes and goes without walking through your accommodation. The third cabin converting from twins to a double on a switch is fitted as standard, and that is the detail I would put in front of anyone with children who will be teenagers before they sell the boat.
The step I would slow people down on is 52 to 56. Three feet of length reads like a small move and it is not: 45 percent more fuel, and a VIP that is full beam instead of narrowed. If you regularly have another couple aboard for a week, that second full-beam cabin changes who you can invite and how long they stay, and it is worth more than the extra length suggests. Above it, the 60 hands you two unfurnished decks and room for sixteen, and the 70 is a different class of berth entirely.
One thing to settle before you configure anything. On the 56 and the 60 there are two engine packages, and the choice is permanent. Take the bigger one if you load the boat heavy or cross open water on a schedule; take the smaller one if your season is coastal and unhurried. Either way, get observed fuel burn at your intended cruise rpm in writing at sea trial, on a boat rigged the way yours will be, and work your own arithmetic off the tank you are buying.
Absolute Flybridge Articles & Guides
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Frequently Asked Questions
What engines do the Absolute Flybridge models use?
Volvo Penta IPS pod drives throughout, scaled to the boat. The 47 FLY takes twin D6-IPS650 at 480 hp a side. The 52 FLY takes twin D8-IPS800 at 600 hp. The 56 FLY offers D8-IPS800 at 600 hp or D11-IPS950 at 725 hp; the 60 FLY offers D11-IPS950 at 725 hp or D13-IPS1200 at 900 hp. The 70 FLY takes twin D13-IPS1350 at 735 kW a side. On the two boats with a choice, decide at order rather than at handover.
Which Absolute Flybridge models have crew accommodation?
Every one except the 47 FLY. On the 47 all three cabins are guest cabins, which is what makes it the owner-operator entry to the line. From the 52 FLY upward each boat carries a crew cabin behind its own door — entered from the stern platform on the 52, by a fixed corridor from the swim platform on the 60, and with its own bathroom on the 70 — so the cabins below stay in the guest count.
How many boats are in the Absolute Flybridge range?
Five: the 47 FLY at 48' 0", the 52 FLY at 55' 0", the 56 FLY at 57' 10", the 60 FLY at 61' 3" and the 70 FLY at 70' 8". All five run twin Volvo Penta IPS pod drives and all five are certified CE category B.
Which Flybridge Fits Your Life?
Tell us how you plan to use the boat — guests, range, crew or no crew — and we'll give you the straight story on where in the Flybridge series you belong, new or brokerage.
Explore All Absolute ModelsOr reach Tony directly: TS@MintedYachts.com · +1 (404) 805-9819